Pbt automotive yarn and method of manufacturing thereof

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure discloses a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn. The yarn comprises a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3. The yarn is obtained by a process comprising melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of PBT; extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments; quenching of the extruded filaments; drawing of the quenched filaments; texturizing of the drawn filaments; cooling of the texturized filaments, overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn. The high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to an improved multi-component yarns and methods of manufacturing the aforementioned improved multi-component yarns. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to multi-component yarns made from Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) having good physical and aesthetic properties along with improved stain resistance, strength and hexapod rating, suitable for automotive tuft and mat application, and methods of manufacturing thereof.

BACKGROUND

Bulk Continuous Filament (BCF) yarns have many applications in the daily day to day life. Bulk Continuous Filament (BCF) yarns are used for making carpets for various applications such as floor coverings, automobile carpets etc. The Bulk Continuous Filament (BCF) yarns used for the automobile carpets must have some properties such as higher resiliency, smooth touch and feel with high shine. Further, the rugged use of carpets also requires the yarn to be strong and stain resistant. Moreover, tufted or woven carpets for the automobiles requires high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities for moulding.

Conventionally, nylon yarn is used for making automobile carpets as it exhibits all the required properties. However, the nylon yarn carpets are costly as the raw material i.e., nylon, is a high-cost material. Moreover, the nylon yarn carpets get stained easily and it's tough to remove stains from the nylon yarn, thus making it difficult to use in light or medium colours. Also, the life of the carpet is reduced. More recently, yarns from other polymers such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate have been used for the purpose of making automobile carpets. However, the yarns from such polymers lack properties such as, resiliency, smooth silky touch, shiny look, premium feel. Thus, the yarns made from such polymers are not suitable for the application of making automobile carpets. Moreover, the carpets made from such yarn lacks high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities for moulding

Therefore, there exist a need to at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a polyester bulked continuous filament yarn with higher resiliency, temperature withstanding capability, pressure withstanding capability smooth feel, shiny look and high stain resistance for long term use of the carpets.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to provide a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn. The present disclosure also seeks to provide a method of manufacturing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn.

The object of the present disclosure is to provide a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn that overcomes at least partially the problems encountered in the prior art.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, the yarn comprising a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3, wherein the yarn is obtained by a process comprising:

-   -   i. melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of         PBT;     -   ii. extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments;     -   iii. quenching of the extruded filaments;     -   iv. drawing of the quenched filaments;     -   v. texturizing of the drawn filaments;     -   vi. cooling of the texturized filaments,     -   vii. overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and     -   viii. winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling         for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked         continuous filament yarn,         wherein the high resilience and stain resistant bulked         continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more         than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.

The present disclosure is advantageous in terms of providing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn having higher resiliency, high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities.

Optionally, the extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 230° C.-300° C.

Optionally, the quenching of the extruded filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 2° C.-20° C.

Optionally, the drawing of the quenched filaments is performed at a draw ratio (DR) in a range of 2 -4.5.

Optionally, the texturizing of the drawn filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 200° C.-280° C. and at an air pressure in a range of 5 -9 bar.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, wherein the yarn includes a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3, the method comprising:

-   -   i. melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of         PBT;     -   ii. extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments;     -   iii. quenching of the extruded filaments;     -   iv. drawing of the quenched filaments;     -   v. texturizing of the drawn filaments;     -   vi. cooling of the texturized filaments,     -   vii. overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and     -   viii. winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling         for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked         continuous filament yarn,         wherein the high resilience and stain resistant bulked         continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more         than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.

Embodiments of the present disclosure substantially eliminate or at least partially address the aforementioned problems in the prior art, and discloses a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn having higher resiliency, high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities.

Additional aspects, advantages, features and objects of the present disclosure would be made apparent from the drawings and the detailed description of the illustrative embodiments construed in conjunction with the appended claims that follow.

It will be appreciated that features of the present disclosure are susceptible to being combined in various combinations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The summary above, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, exemplary constructions of the disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed herein. Moreover, those in the art will understand that the drawings are not to scale. Wherever possible, like elements have been indicated by identical numbers.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following diagram wherein:

The FIGURE is a flow chart depicting a method of manufacturing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings, an underlined number is employed to represent an item over which the underlined number is positioned or an item to which the underlined number is adjacent. A non-underlined number relates to an item identified by a line linking the non-underlined number to the item. When a number is non-underlined and accompanied by an associated arrow, the non-underlined number is used to identify a general item at which the arrow is pointing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure and ways in which they can be implemented. Although some modes of carrying out the present disclosure have been disclosed, those skilled in the art would recognize that other embodiments for carrying out or practicing the present disclosure are also possible.

The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. The terms “having”, “comprising”, “including”, and variations thereof signify the presence of a component.

The present disclosure provides a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn. The yarn comprises a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3. The yarn is obtained by a process comprising melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of PBT; extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments; quenching of the extruded filaments; drawing of the quenched filaments; texturizing of the drawn filaments; cooling of the texturized filaments, overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn. The high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.

As presented, the present disclosure is advantageous in terms of providing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn having higher resiliency, high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities. The bulked continuous filament yarn of the present invention may have high resiliency compared to yarn of other polymers. The bulked continuous filament yarn of the present invention exhibits superior and smooth feel. The bulked continuous filament yarn of the present invention exhibits a shiny look. The bulked continuous filament yarn of the present invention would be stain-resistant compared to yarns obtained from other polymers such as nylon and have a stain resistance rating of more than 3.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn” refers to a yarn made up from a multiple components or materials with property of high bulk, high resilience, and stain resistance. Moreover, the term “bulked continuous filament yarn” is used interchangeably in place of “high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn”.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “bulk” refers to the property of yarn by virtue of which the yarn exhibits covering power or apparent volume higher than the conventional yarn of equal linear density and same base material with normal twist.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “continuous filament yarn” refers to yarn made up of very long continuous fibres (filaments) either twisted or grouped together. The bulked continuous filament yarn is a multifilament yarn.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “melt spinning” refers to the manufacturing process for creating polymer fibres by extruding the molten polymer using a spinneret. The polymer solidifies in the form of fibres by cooling after being extruded from the spinneret.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “extrusion” refers to the process of forcing thick, viscous liquid through tiny holes of spinneret to form continuous filaments. Optionally, the extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments may be performed at a temperature in a range of 230° C.-300° C.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “quenching” refers to the process of cooling the extruded fibres to make bundles of the spun filaments after their discharge from the spinning machine. The process of quenching may be carried out using fluids such as air, water and so forth. Optionally, the quenching of the extruded filaments may be performed at a temperature in a range of 2° C.-20° C.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “drawing” refers to the process of attenuating a loose assemblage of fibres (sliver) by passing the loose assemblage of fibres through a series of rollers to straighten the individual fibres and make the fibres more parallel. Preferably, each pair of rollers spins faster than the previous pair of rollers. Optionally, the drawing of the quenched filaments may be performed at a draw ratio (DR) in a range of 2 -4.5. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “draw ratio” refers to the ratio of output roller to input roller speed. The draw ratio may also be referred as stretch ratio.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “texturizing” refers to the process of formation of crimp, loops, coils and/or crinkles in the filaments. The crimp, loops, coils and/or crinkles in the filaments changes the physical form of the filaments. The texturizing may affect the behaviour and feel of the yarn. Optionally, the texturizing of the drawn filaments may be performed at a temperature in a range of 200° C.-280° C. Optionally, the texturizing of the drawn filaments may be performed at an air pressure in a range of 5 -9 bar. The texturized filaments are cooled for setting of the imparted properties in the filaments.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “overfeeding” refers to the condition when input feeding in a textile process is done faster than the rate of running of process. Optionally, the overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments is performed in a range of 10 -30%. Advantageously, the overfeeding may cause warp yarn to retract, weft density to rise, increase gram weight.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “winding” refers to the process of yarn manufacturing wherein filaments are transferred to form big yarn packages for further processing. The winding step completes the primary yarn manufacturing process. Optionally, the winding may be random winding. Alternatively, the winding may be precision winding. Further, the winding of the overfeed filaments is done with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term “tangling” refers to the process of interlacing to give the property of cohesion in the synthetic filaments. The tangling of the filaments may be done by running the continuous filaments under a defined tension through an air jet and applying a perpendicular or nearly perpendicular high pressure air stream to the yarn. The air stream creates a turbulence, splitting the yarn bundle and then forcing individual filaments together, which creates a kind of braiding effect on the yarn. Thereby the cohesion between the filaments is increased by a large magnitude. Advantageously, such yarn can be used without any further twisting in weaving and knitting.

Table 1, presented below, illustrates the comparison of properties such as Denier, Filaments, Tenacity, Elongation, Stain Resistance and Hexapod Rating of the yarn between regular products and bulked continuous filament yarn of the present disclosure (mentioned in bold letters). In the Table 1, the denier represents a measure for linear mass density of fibers. The filament number represents number of filaments in the subject yarn. The tenacity represents a measure of property of grip between fibres. The tenacity is represented as grams per denier (gpd). The elongation represents a measure of increase in length of the fibre. The elongation is represented as a percentage of the starting length. The stain resistance represents a measure of property to avoid staining of the fibres. The stain resistance is tested using AATCC 175-2008 standard test method on a scale of 1 to 5. The hexapod rating represents the rating achieved by the sample during the Hexapod drum test at 12000 cycles. The Hexapod drum test include a rotating drum used as an instrument to test pile floor coverings. Carpet samples are placed in this rotating drum with a polyurethane studded metal ball to simulate the physical effects of traffic. This accelerated test provides a specific rating of the ability of the carpet to withstand crushing and matting.

TABLE 1 Comparison of properties between regular products and bulked continuous filament yarn of the present disclosure Stain Resistance Hexapod Rating rating (AATCC after Tenacity 175-2008, 12000 Denier Filaments (gpd) Elongation scale 1-5) cycles Comparative 1200 120 3.8 33% 4 1 PET 1200/120 Comparative 1200 128 3.1 45% 2-3 3 Nylon 6 (PA6) 1200/128 Comparative PP 1200 144 2.8 42% 4 1 1200/120 Claimed bulked 1200 120 3.3 35% 5 2 continuous filament yarn (PBT) 1200/120

As shown in the Table 1, the bulked continuous filament yarn of the present disclosure clearly exhibits higher resiliency, high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities when subjected to similar tests with similar amount of Denier. Further, the hexapod rating of the manufactured yarn after 12000 cycles is 2 compared to 3 of Nylon (PA6) 1200/128 yarn. The manufactured yarn has stain resistance rating of 5 compared to 2-3 rating of Nylon (PA6) 1200/128 yarn showing better stain resistance over the Nylon (PA6) 1200/128 yarn while having comparable strength.

Therefore, the bulked continuous filament yarn of the present disclosure may be advantageously used over the other products for better properties.

Referring to the FIGURE, there is illustrated a block diagram of steps of a method 100 of manufacturing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The yarn includes a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1. At step 102, the method 100 includes melt spinning of a plurality of continuous filaments of PBT. At step 104, the method 100 includes extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments. At step 106, the method 100 includes quenching of the extruded filaments. At step 108, the method 100 includes drawing of the quenched filaments. At step 110, the method 100 includes texturizing of the drawn filaments. At step 112, the method 100 includes cooling of the texturized filaments. At step 114, the method 100 includes overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments. At step 116, the method 100 includes winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, wherein the obtained high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.

Optionally, the extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 230° C.-300° C.

Optionally, the quenching of the extruded filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 2° C.-20° C.

Optionally, the drawing of the quenched filaments is performed at a draw ratio (DR) in a range of 2 -4.5.

Optionally, the texturizing of the drawn filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 200° C.-280° C. and at an air pressure in a range of 5 -9 bar.

Optionally, the overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments is performed in a range of 10 -30%.

It will be appreciated that the present method is advantageous in terms of producing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn having higher resiliency, high-temperature and high-pressure withstanding capabilities.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. 

We claim:
 1. A high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, the yarn comprising a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3, wherein the yarn is obtained by a process comprising: i. melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of PBT; ii. extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments; iii. quenching of the extruded filaments; iv. drawing of the quenched filaments; v. texturizing of the drawn filaments; vi. cooling of the texturized filaments, vii. overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and viii. winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, wherein the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles.
 2. The yarn of claim 1, wherein the extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 230° C.-300° C.
 3. The yarn of claim 1, wherein the quenching of the extruded filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 2° C.-20° C.
 4. The yarn of claim 1, wherein the drawing of the quenched filaments is performed at a draw ratio (DR) in a range of 2 -4.5.
 5. The yarn of claim 1, wherein the texturizing of the drawn filaments is performed at a temperature in a range of 200° C.-280° C. and at an air pressure in a range of 5 - 9 bar.
 6. The yarn of claim 1, wherein the overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments is performed in a range of 10 -30%.
 7. A method of (for) manufacturing a high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, wherein the yarn includes a plurality of continuous filaments of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), wherein the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has intrinsic viscosity in the range of 0.8 to 1.3, the method comprising: i. melt spinning of the plurality of continuous filaments of PBT; ii. extrusion of the plurality of continuous filaments; iii. quenching of the extruded filaments; iv. drawing of the quenched filaments; v. texturizing of the drawn filaments; vi. cooling of the texturized filaments, vii. overfeeding of the cooled-texturized filaments; and viii. winding of the overfeed filaments with or without tangling for obtaining the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn, wherein the high resilience and stain resistant bulked continuous filament yarn has a stain resistance rating of more than 3 and a hexapod rating of 2 or more after 12000 cycles. 